http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership This presentation was made during the African Soil Prtnership consulation workshop which took a place in Ghana, 20-22 May 2015. This presentation was made by Nthatuoa Rantoa & Dr. Botle Mapeshoane, and it presents the priorities for SSM in Lesotho. ©FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. PRIORITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE
SOIL MANAGEMENT IN THE
MOUNTAIN KINGDOM OF
LESOTHO
By NTHATUOA RANTOA
&
DR BOTLE MAPESHOANE

3. Brief background of Lesotho
• Lesotho has a total population of 1,872,721.
• 23.74% lived in urban and 76.26% in rural
areas.
• The capital is Maseru
• The country's capital, Maseru, accounts for
around half of the total urban population
• Annual increase of urban population is 3.5%
• The distribution by gender is 911,848 male and
960,873 female
• The average population density in the country is
around 61,7 people per sq km.
• The annual population growth rate is estimated
at 0.13%

4. 10 districts of Lesotho

5. ECONOMY: Water and
electricity - sold to South Africa
MOHALE DAM MOHALE DAM INTAKE TOWER

6. Agriculture – Wool and mohair is
exported to South Africa and Australia
Agriculture contributes 7.1% to the
country’s GDP

7. Diamonds exported to all over
the world

8. Lesotho landscape
• Arable land 10.8%
• Permanent crops 0.13%
• Rangeland 60%
• 0.2% devoted to national parks and game
reserves
• Other 29%
Central problem of severe land
degradation

9. Causes of Land Degradation
in Lesotho
9
Land degradation in Lesotho is caused by both
Natural and Human Induced factors.
Natural Factors
Climate change
Topography
Soils - Duplex soils in lowlands and silty shallow soils
in the mountains
Human Induced Factors
Over exploitation of resources
Over grazing
Deforestation
Uncontrolled fires
Poor farming practices

10. Impacts of Land Degradation
10
•Unsustainable land management practices have
severe impact on water resources in Lesotho, as
it leads to the shrinkage of surface and ground
water resources.
•Severe food insecurity and failing livelihoods
•Recurrent droughts have led to a steep decline
in the production of cereals and other staple
crops
•Siltation, drying up of rivers

11. Efforts on Sustainable Soil
Management in Lesotho
• Synergies amongst Rio Conventions and
other MEAs (UNFCCC, UNCCD, and CBD)
• Development of National Action Plan (NAP)
• Strengthening of national and state
institutions involved in environment issues
• Intensifying international cooperation and
partnership arrangements in the areas of
training, research, development and transfer
of affordable and acceptable
environmentally sound technology.

12. Efforts on Sustainable Soil
Management in Lesotho cont.
• Involvement of local people in the
design, implementation and
management of natural resources
conservation programmes
• Integrating public awareness and
education
• Integrated programmes targeted at
poverty alleviation
12

13. Efforts on Sustainable Soil
Management in Lesotho cont.
13
•Construction of stonelines in rangelands to
reduce the soil loss due to runoff
•Construction of check dams/silt traps
•Promote fodder production to feed animals to
reduce pressure from animal grazing
•Reseeding of denuded marginal lands

14. Efforts on Sustainable Soil
Management in Lesotho cont.
• Investment in soils e.g. Implementation of
the Integrated Watershed Management
Countrywide.(240 micro-catchments)
14

16. River bank protection

18. SOIL INFORMATION
• Reconnaissance Soil Survey 1979 (1:250
000)
• Detailed soil surveys and maps (1:20 000)
(different areas of interest)
• Scattered information on soils from other
economic development projects (1:10 000)
• Digital Soil Map produced by Maloti
Drakensberg Transfontier Project – FAO
Classification, 2012 18

19. SOIL ASSOCIATIONS OF
LESOTHO
19

20. NATIONAL PRIORITIES
• To develop a national soil database
(spatial data)
Develop a database for existing soil associations
map (metadata and geo-referencing)
Ground-truthing (1979 Soil Associations) and
correlation with WRB Classification
• Conduct detailed land degradation
assessment (pipeline – LADA project)
• To update soil loss database (last study –
1988, 40 million tonnes/ha/yr)
• Train more pedologists 20

21. Challenges
• The communal land tenure system
provides little incentive to the individual to
improve or protect arable land and
communally grazed resources, and the
associated risk of investing in agricultural
improvement;
• Poverty has limitation on many
households that could be involved in
conservation activities, as they may
require purchased inputs;

22. Challenges cont.
• Shortage of human resource with soil survey,
classification and mapping skills
• Inadequate institutional and systemic
capacity for sustainable soil management
initiatives
• Lack of systematic and harmonized soil
information

23. OPPORTUNITIES
• Political will e.g. Ratification of
Conventions and Protocols and increased
budget
• Partnerships with Bilateral
Donors/Development Partners e.g. FAO,
UNDP, NGOs etc
• Participation in sub-regional, regional and
international meetings and conferences
• Positive transboundary relationships -
(Maluti Drakensburg Transfontier Project)
23

24. • Currently developing Information and
Communications Technology
(Dissemination, Monitoring and Info
Sharing for soils and related matter)
24

25. Khotso, Pula,
Nala
(Peace, Rain,
Prosperity)